The present invention relates generally to a method and system for leasing goods, and more particularly, is directed to a method and system for a group of individuals to lease a matching number of vehicles so that the vehicles are transferred between the individuals in a systematic sequence that permits each individual to drive each vehicle in the group for a predetermined length of time and predetermined time slot and at a predetermined lease price.
Conventionally, there are four ways to obtain rights to drive a vehicle, namely, purchase, lease, rental or car share. The purchase of a vehicle generally requires high payments, since the entire vehicle is purchased in a short period of time, for example, three or four years. Vehicle rental generally occurs for a much shorter period of time, for example, a day or week, and would be cost prohibitive over a period of time of, for example, three years.
Car share is similar to very short term rentals of, for example, one hour to a weekend. The typical car share program involves groups of people who become members by paying a membership fee. They can then reserve time to use the car and pay an additional fee, based on the length of each individual use, on either an hourly or daily basis. However, use of the cars is relatively random in that there is no systematic rotation of vehicles between individuals in the group. This is because individuals reserve vehicles on an as needed basis. As a result, there may be times when vehicles are not being leased at all, and other times when one is unable to reserve a vehicle because all of the vehicles in the group have been reserved. There are also periods of time when vehicles are not in use, and consequently, are not fully utilized, whereby the lessor loses cost opportunity. The primary advantage of this system is for those persons who have relatively little use for a vehicle and desire access to a vehicle on an as needed basis, and are willing to pay accordingly. Thus, with this system, there is no matching of the number of vehicles available with the same number of people in the program, and no matching with the number of lease periods, that is, the system is a random system.
Conventional leasing of vehicles has become a popular option because it can be financially attractive. With a leased vehicle, there remains a residual value at the end of the lease. Accordingly, the payments are based on the difference between the purchase price and the residual value, thereby greatly reducing the monthly payments relative to the purchase of the vehicle.
However, a lease arrangement is limited to a single vehicle for the relatively long lease term. Thus, a lease arrangement is not designed to provide flexibility as to the types of vehicles that a person can drive, that is, the person is limited to driving a single vehicle during the lease term. A person can easily get tired of driving a single vehicle during a lease term and may prefer a wider range of choices.
Another problem with leasing is that the vehicles are returned to the vehicle dealership at the end of the lease term. The vehicle dealership must then attempt to sell the returned vehicles. Because of the large number of leased vehicles, there has been a glut of used vehicles that the dealership must now sell.
In earlier copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/873,686, a method and system was disclosed in which an individual could lease multiple vehicles in sequence in a lease arrangement. Although this is easy to manage from the individual lessee's viewpoint, it can become difficult to manage for the lessor, particularly where there are a large number of vehicles and lessees. It can also result in a waste of cost opportunity where vehicles are not being leased.